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Men’s Tennis Kicks Off Fall at Joe Hunt Invitational

| By: Adam Fink '29

Nichols, McGowan, and Hessler stay undefeated in singles

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Colgate men's tennis began its 2026 fall season at the Joe Hunt Invitational, hosted by Navy. The squad participated in three days of hidden dual matches against teams from across the East Coast. Junior Wesley Nichols, first-year Declan Hessler and senior captain Parker McGowan all posted undefeated records in singles play. Each of the Raiders' three first-year additions Jack Babka, Declan Hessler, and Jacob Thomas captured their first collegiate wins.

DAY 1
After a rain-delayed morning, the Raiders opened the invitational by taking on University of Mary Washington and Navy in singles and doubles action. 
  • Declan Hessler and Jacob Thomas each registered a singles win over Navy and combined for a doubles victory as well.
  • Senior captain Jerome Falcon and sophomore Adam Fink battled through tight three-set matches against Mary Washington. 
  • Wesley Nichols and Parker McGowan recorded three-set wins over Mary Washington with scores of 6-1 2-6 (10-6) and 6-4 4-6 (10-5), respectively. 
  • Sophomore Wittman Bulger and Wesley Nichols defeated Navy in doubles with the score of, 6-4. 
DAY 2
The squad continued play on the second day with singles action against Fairleigh Dickinson University, Morgan State University, and Navy.  DAY 3
The Raiders concluded the invitational with two doubles matches each, amassing a 7-3 record on the final day of competition. COACH PENNINGTON'S COMMENTS
"Overall a very productive weekend for our boys. We took 10 guys and each got in 3 singles and 4 doubles matches, which is an unheard of amount based on invitationals in the past. We also played very challenging teams from down south. Saturday we played a ton of singles and won a lot of matches. We finished the event strong on Sunday going 7-3 in doubles, and the teams of Seth/Babka, Vargas/McGowan, and Hessler/Thomas all went 2-0. Game balls going to Wesley Nichols and Parker McGowan for each 3-0 weekend in singles. I was overall impressed how we competed and the overall attitude and culture was strong. We have a little while to recover before we host our home invite in a few weeks."

UP NEXT
The Raiders return to action at home when they host the third annual Colgate Invitational on Oct. 3 at the J.W. Abrahamson Tennis Courts.
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